This is an album of diminished expectations being rewarded with fine pop, of a star out of the limelight enough to begin to get interesting again.
Like the cover art suggests, Amuro's second team-up with American producer Dallas Austin (Boyz II Men, Monica, TLC) preps her for an announced American breakthrough (although that's what they said about the older Japanese pop diva Seiko Matsuda, whose attempt to hit the U.S.
market was laughably flat).
There's even a song called "Crossover." Austin may be the right man for the job: his tracks (about half of the album) are far from pop (though nothing too far from mainstream R&B -- witness the Jennifer Lopez soundalike "Girlfriend").
He doesn't push Amuro beyond her range (except on "Think of Me" where you find out she isn't Christina Aguilera -- thank goodness), and keeps her vocals sleek, multi-tracked, and smooth.
Highlights include the pop psychedelia of "Better Days," sounding like a great lost P.M.
Dawn track; "Never Shoulda," full of drama; and Komuro's own effort, the lead-off single "No More Tears," which is complemented at the end by a disco remix by Junior Vasquez.
It's an interesting test run for Amuro's takeover bid, but suggests there's more work ahead.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rule 8am | Namie Amuro | Play | 00:30 | 1 MB | 3 MB |
| 2 | No More Tears | Namie Amuro | Play | 05:45 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 3 | Break the Rules | Namie Amuro | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Looking for You | Namie Amuro | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Please Smile Again | Namie Amuro | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 36 MB |
| 6 | Never Shoulda | Namie Amuro | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 33 MB |
| 7 | Cross Over | Namie Amuro | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 8 | Girlfriend | Namie Amuro | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | Never End | Namie Amuro | Play | 06:25 | 14 MB | 43 MB |
| 10 | Think of Me | Namie Amuro | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 11 | Rule 8pm | Namie Amuro | Play | 00:33 | 1 MB | 2 MB |
| 12 | Himawari | Namie Amuro | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 13 | No More Tears | Namie Amuro | Play | 05:45 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 14 | No More Tears (Remix) | Namie Amuro | Play | 08:59 | 20 MB | 67 MB |
| 64 mins | 147 MB | |||||
| 64 mins | 456 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namie Amuro | Primary Artist |
| 2 | Mark "Exit" Goodchild | Mixing Assistant |
| 3 | Ricco Lumpkins | Composer, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |